Why Is Fast Casual a Best Investment?

And we likewise have Clinton Anderson, the CEO of 4th, who will be moderating the discussion with Jason. Jason, how about I let you offer the audience some info about your background and you can likewise inform them a little bit about Chop Store.

Thanks Christina. My name is Jason Morgan, CEO of Original Chop Shop. I have actually been doing this for about 9 years now. We bought the brand name in 2016three unitsand I've grown it to 26. Prior to this, I've invested many of my profession in hospitality in some shape or form. After a short stint of trying to be an accountant for about a year and a half, I transitioned into casino residential or commercial property and operated in business financing.

I was the very first employee there after private equity bought business. Helped grow that from 20 to 150 places, took it public in 2014, and then left about a year and a half after going public to do this at Chop Store. My hope is that we can replicate the success we had at Zos, and we're off to a truly excellent start.

We're at the counter, we bring the food to the table. The secret to the program is we have a drink component as well with fresh-squeezed juices and protein shakes.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

A little more complicated than some of the walk-the-line ideas that are out there, but we think we have actually got something quite unique. We're going to add another shop this year and at least four shops next year. So we will be 31 or two stores by the end of next year.

Fast Casual Market Share Growth

I've been in this role for about 6 years. 4th, as numerous of you understand, is a leading service provider of software options to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our goal is to help our clients be effective in driving profitability and being efficientmanaging labor, handling inventory, and basically providing them with tools they need to deliver their vision.

It's rare to have companies that are cherished and growing rapidly, that can duplicate that success every year. Jason, among the reasons I was so fired up to have you join our session is the success at Zos was incredible. I've just fulfilled a handful of brands where there was such a strong consumer affinity for the brand.

When you talk to consumers about Chop Store, they love the place. And to be able to take what is a reasonably complex principle in terms of providing a fantastic experience for the consumer, and be able to grow that from a few stores to now north of 30 stores next yearit's fantastic.

We're going to speak about how to scale a dining establishment service. Every restaurateur I ever speak with has imagine taking one store, two stores, 5 shops, and turning it into something much biggerexpanding throughout the city, across the state, into multiple states, and eventually national, even global reach. It's not easy, specifically in today's environment.

It's not an easy time to drive success and growth at the exact same time. How do you scale it and make it successful? Second, beyond technology, how do you scale terrific groups?

Why Is Fast Casual the Best Investment?

The very first concern I have for you, Jasonlook, you've done this two times now in the dining establishment industry. What are some of the lessons you've learned? What has your experience remained in terms of what it requires to actually drive success in broadening restaurants? Tell me a little about your course, what you experienced along the method, and possibly some of the harder lessons you found out.

We talked a bit before we began about LinkedIn, and I have actually got a post teed as much as follow this next week about what the playbook is likepoint by pointfor growing a business. To me, among the key things, and I feel extremely fortunate, is that both brand names I've been included with are distinct.

And there's absolutely nothing precisely like Chop Store in terms of what we're doing with a big, diverse menu. Many brands today are very singularly focused in terms of what they're using from a foodstuff. I feel like we began at an advantage with both brand names by having something distinct that filled a specific niche no one else was doing.

Because it's just harder to stand apart when there are 10, 20, 50 principles within a 2- or three-mile radius trying to do the specific very same thing. A lot of it starts with the brand. Does your brand have something special that no one else is doing? That's uncommon.

Why Is Scaling a Wise Move?

The second thingI came from a financing background, so a lot of my learnings are more financing and data-driven versus a lot of early startup restaurateurs who are imaginative types. They like the food, they constructed the menu, they constructed the brand. I probably couldn't do that from scratch. However if you gave me something that has all those elements in location, I can take it from there and put the playbook in location.

They don't know their breakeven sales. They do not comprehend how margin improves as sales increase. I have actually seen so numerous companies where the numbers simply don't work.

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If you don't have those 2 things, you shouldn't be building stores. Yeah, perhaps both, right? Since as I hear your description, you have actually highlighted 3 things: execution, brand name differentiation, and financial viability. You have actually got to begin with execution. If you do not have an operating design that works, broadening it simply increases issues.

Expansion Updates: New Milestones for 2026

Second, you require an engaging brand or distinct principle that resonates with clients. And 3rd, the math has to work. If you don't comprehend your system economics, your repaired and variable costs, you might be expanding blind and losing cash. Precisely. And another essential lesson has to do with entering brand-new markets.

When we broadened to Dallas, I anticipated brand-new stores to do 5070% of Phoenix sales in the very first year. Too lots of operators presume new markets will open at full volume day one.